I had another unfortunate incident walking our pooches yesterday, though the outcome could have been far worse. Hudson the wonder dog, the Gunnar-man, and I were approaching a corner when a neighbor's toy poodle came rushing up, barking his head off. His owner ran up and re-secured the leash he'd lost, as somehow he had more trouble with one dog weighing six pounds than I did with two totaling 120. Just as I started to joke that his dog has been trying to teach my guys a lesson for years (as he always barks at us as we pass his house) Hudson's remarkable telekinetic abilities kicked in, as she managed to get her leash to unclasp with a simple shake of her head. In a flash that defies her age she covered the five or six yards between us and grabbed the poodle in her mouth. As I reached the scene and grabbed Hudson's jaws to save the dog, my genius neighbor decided to help by kicking her in the face, which was one of the surest ways to escalate this into a situation that would result in his dog's death. I shouted at him to stop kicking and freed his pooch from her grasp. As he stormed off I called after him to ask if his dog was okay and he just repeated my command to "stop kicking her" to indicate he didn't like how I handed this. I tried to explain that this just was for his dog's protection, but he was just pissed. I stopped by their house and apologized to his wife and got reassurances that no injuries were suffered, so hopefully this won't result in any ill will.

There is a lesson here: There are right ways and wrong ways to deal with dog fights, and a surprising number of dog owners don't do any research on how to deal with such problems before they occur, something I would strongly recommend.

Prez wrote on Jan 10, 2013, 07:20:I love dogs but cats are awesome too - I never have less than three of them. Thank goodness my wife is a cleaning-obsessed freak because I never have less than three dogs either, so without that my house would probably reek.

I don't keep quite as many animals, but I agree....they make the world seem like a better place then it really is sometimes. (provided you or your other cohabitants are willing to clean up after them)

I love dogs but cats are awesome too - I never have less than three of them. Thank goodness my wife is a cleaning-obsessed freak because I never have less than three dogs either, so without that my house would probably reek.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Just over a decade ago in Albuquerque, I worked on a news story where a family had a baby and the dog didn't like the baby and snapped at it. The owners didn't know what to do, so they took the dog to the shelter to be adopted. They thought better of it a few days later only to find out that the shelter had euthanized the dog ("We had to tell whomever was interested that the dog snaps at children. No one would have adopted it," they said.) The couple was horribly upset at what had happened. If there was a silver lining to this story, it was that part of our story when to a local dog psychologist, a profession I had no idea existed as this is years before Cesar Milan burst onto the scene (but I did see the real horse whisperer about a year earlier). The advice the psychologist gave made such good sense that it caused me to rethink how I thought about dogs.

The psychologist talked about the order of the pack and how to retrain the dog to understand that people packs are different and people babies go above them. This included stopping doing submissive behavior around the dog (no laying on your back with your belly up on the sofa, for example). The ending was that this was a tragedy that could have been avoided, but in 2001, who would have thought to find a pet psychologist?

Orphic Resonance wrote on Jan 9, 2013, 17:54:its just an excuse.. like "we're only human".. its rationalization, plain and simple

what it takes is relentless consistency, and yeh i know most people have no conception of that beyond some kind of idealistic fantasy they assume is automatically unattainable... but i can assure you its not

I've owned eight dogs in my life, all of whom have been perfectly obedient and well-behaved, and all of whom have known from day one that even though I love them to death, they are my pets, and I am the one in charge.

So I know how to be consistent with dogs. But her instinct to circle around the herd is so strong that whenever I walk her, she will circle around me. Her brother does it too, but less so, likely because he tends more to the border collie side than she does. She's definitely Blue Heeler, and she WANTS to circle around people when she walks. it's nothing more than that, it's not as if she's trying to nip at your heels or anything, but she circles.

Now, could I stomp that behavior out if I really, really wanted to? I guess I could. My original statement should probably have read that I can't get her to stop trying to herd me no matter what I'm willing to try to get her to stop. It's not a huge bother, so I have no desire to just grind it out of her.

But that instinct is undeniable in her. It doesn't matter who walks her, she will circle around them. and if you're walking with a group of people, she will try to circle around all of them, and she gets antsy if you split up a bit too far for her liking.

Creston wrote on Jan 9, 2013, 15:22:Yeah, I realize it's tough if not almost impossible to go against her instinct. I can't get my Blue Heeler to stop trying to herd me when I walk her, no matter what I try. That's just what she is.

its just an excuse.. like "we're only human".. its rationalization, plain and simple

what it takes is relentless consistency, and yeh i know most people have no conception of that beyond some kind of idealistic fantasy they assume is automatically unattainable... but i can assure you its not

dogs do have the ability to listen to you instead of their self-serving instincts, even if they reflexively "do their thing" for a moment, they can still respond after the fact.. unless they simply wont listen to you at all, except in fair-weather conditions

thats the true test of being a "pack leader", because ultimately the dog's instinct is to follow the alpha, not do their own thing and fuck everything else - thats the world of human pets - for dogs its not really as natural as being part of the team

so you have to be able to tune into that level of instinct instead, but then again humans are so removed from their own instincts that it ends up being a serious challenge.. but thats not the dogs problem.. thats your problem

Creston wrote on Jan 9, 2013, 11:13:It's always wise to teach your dog a "let go" command. Practice it with toys, etc, and then when they do well with those, even occasionally practice it with food or a treat. Then when something like this happens, you can just order them to "let go" and they should drop whatever little mutt they happen to be chewing on.

Keep in mind that Hudson is a terrier, and terriers are bred for a certain degree of independent thinking, in particular when it comes to disposing of vermin. I'm sure it's possible: She's good at listening when told to drop inanimate objects, but I am not nearly enough of a dog whisperer to trust being able to command her to drop prey.

Yeah, I realize it's tough if not almost impossible to go against her instinct. I can't get my Blue Heeler to stop trying to herd me when I walk her, no matter what I try. That's just what she is.

If nothing else, such a command would help when you're putting pressure on her mouth to open up.

As for the back legs thing, that seems pretty scary to me when they have something in their mouths that you absolutely do NOT want them to bite. If anything, to me a dog would bite down just out of fright (as they really don't like it when you mess with their rear legs.)

Even so, it's still better than kicking. Making the dog more aggressive doesn't exactly help.

Yakubs wrote on Jan 9, 2013, 10:18:Poodles are the definition of a dog that deserve to get whooped on. I would never be caught dead walking in public with one of them.

Animals have their own personalities, we had a poodle when I was a kid that was a very playful and fun dog, not a yapper at all either. It only speaks to your own insecurities that you would not walk one in a public place and I think you have the wrong perception of what the public thinks about them in general. Go walk a small dog at a dogpark sometime and you will likely be chatted up by some fine looking women provided you don't look like a weirdo or something.

Not a big fan of toy poodles, but some small dogs can be a heck of a lot of fun. Bichon Frise look girly but like standard poodles they can be very adventurous and quite tough. Toy dachshunds are really fun but you have to have them insured due to all the structural defects (lumbar discs). And French Bulldogs are just ridiculous - great with kids and very sunny temper, although again you have to insure them (eyes, nose, trachea, tonsils, palate, spine, skin, etc, etc - a veterinarian's bank account). And beagles a re fun as well.

Having said that, the best mutts of all come from the pound. Just don't choose a puppy that looks even remotely like a pit bull.